Saturday, April 7, 2012

Nawa Koa Misi, who wears #55 for the Miami Dolphins, was apprehended and arrested at his home in Broward County, Florida on March 30th pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by Santa Barbara County, California. The warrant had been issued based upon evidence of an assault and battery that took place on an Isla Vista apartment building balcony on April 15, 2011.

According to Drew Sugars, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Public Information Officer, Misi was on the street below the balcony in the heart of UCSB’s student residential area when he became involved in a verbal altercation with an individual on the balcony. “Witness reports indicate that Misi entered the apartment building at that time by punching a hole through the wooden front door,” and then climbed the stairs to confront a 19-year old tenant who was asleep on a couch inside his residential unit. Sugars reported at the time that witnesses observed the tenant stand up to be summarily punched in the face by Misi.

According to media reports, three females who were present demanded that Misi pay for the damage to the building’s entrance door. One of the women on the scene attempted to call the local Isla Vista Foot Patrol division of SBSD on her cellphone, at which time Misi grabbed the phone and threw it to the ground.

Misi, 25, was contacted shortly thereafter by Sheriff’s deputies and released without charge when he agreed to pay for any property damages at the scene. The following day, however, the victim of the assault requested that charges be filed. When contacted by phone, Misi informed deputies that he had left the area and would be unavailable for comment.

The Santa Barbara District Attorney, upon filing charges of Battery with Serious Bodily Injury, additionally filed an arrest warrant which led Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Felony Fugitive Unit to determine that Misi was living in Florida.

Following his apprehension in Broward County, Florida, Misi was initially held on $10,000 bond, which posted on condition that he appear before a Florida magistrate to respond to an extradition request. According to his attorney Adam Braun, Misi plans to return voluntarily to Santa Barbara to resolve the case.